A conscientious ghost decides to contest elections opposite a criminal candidate and seeks mandate from the gullible public while emphasising on how a worthy candidate shouldn’t be judged by the nature of his existence but by his scruples and merit.

Its main attraction then and now — Amitabh Bachchan reprises his role with humour, wisdom, charisma and a charming approachability. He seems to exclusively radiate around his knee-length co-stars.

In reciprocation, young Parth Bhalerao’s scene-stealing Akhrot matches Big B’s seasoned heft in good measure.

Playing the precocious Dharavi-dwelling kid who begins every sentence with ‘apun’ and empathises with his single working mom’s (Usha Jadhav’s) struggle is known to produce painfully maudlin moments on celluloid but Bhalerao’s judicious energy, instinctive smarts and melting smile steer clear of tired stereotypes.

A fun bond strikes between him and Bhoothnath immediately after the latter returns to earth to wipe out his ‘can’t scare kids’ reputation in Bhoothland, which looks straight out of a European fairy tale on the outside but a typical government headquarters with a couple of witty touches inside –- signboard requesting to maintain ‘dead’ silence.

Superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor have cameos in the film which bring life to it for a while. However,the drab and boring premise seems to be inevitable . So Boredom,thereby,continues post the exit of the superstars.

Bhoothnath Returns is a film which is full of loopholes, yet the brilliant performances by Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani and child artist Parth Bhalerao makes it a watchable film.

Basic idea of Bhoothnath seems to have lost somewhere in the second part. Except for the first 45 minutes, Bhoothnath Returns is a serious film which has a very serious political theme.

While the theme is well-timed, and coincides with the Indian elections, the lack of a tighter edit and logic reduces it to a ghastly mess.

The film challenges the mediocrity in the first half but doesn’t sustain till the end. The movie starts as a fun ride with both Big B and the child actor but after a point becomes preachy lectures on social issues albeit a few rib-tickling and moist-eyed moments.

At 160-minutes of screen time, it stops being a fun, endearing story and turns into a classroom lecture on voting rights.

If Nitesh had blanked out Bhoothnath, and retained his baritone voice instead, at least for majority of the movie, it would’ve been more effective.

So, what could have been a good movie, turned into something hugely disappointing!

Amitabh Bachchan’s much awaited horredy loved by kids, Bhoothnath Returns opens in theaters today. The sequel to the hit film Bhoothnath, will see Big B reprise the role of a friendly ghost who will stand up in elections to contest against a corrupt politician played by Boman Irani.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has been promoting the movie extensively via TV shows and marketing campaigns. The film will be a weekend delight to the children audience espcifically. Badshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan and hunk Ranbir Kapoor will be seen in a cameo appearance in this movie.

The film’s trailer and the first look fetched a massive response from the masses. Despite the external controversies prevailing with appeals slammed by social activist and writer who have accused the film to promote superstitions and lifting literary works, the film managed to release without any restraining order from the court.

The film is said to be a complete laugh riot, seeing Amitabh play that witty ghost in a race to contest in elections. This is a perfect timing as the real Lok Sabha Elections are round the corner, and the film will send a moral message to one and all.

Boman Irani plays an entertaining role of a corrupt politician who is haunted by Bhoothnath. The film stars child actors who will go along the flow with the story.

Bhooth Returns also stars Anurag Kashyap, Usha Jadhav, Sanjay Mishra, Brijendra Kala and Usha Nadkarni in important roles. Directd by Nitesh Tiwari, the film has music composed by Palash Mucchal, Anjjan, Ram Sampath and Yo Yo Honey Singh.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was spotted on Saturday in Mumbai at the special screening of his upcoming horror comedy flick, Bhoothnath Returns. The acting legend watched the film with filmmaker R Balki and his director wife Gauri Shinde. Jaya Bachchan also accompanied her husband for the screening.

Bhoothnath Returns is a sequel to the original hit Bhoothnath, and stars Big B playing the adorable friendly ghost who fights the prevailing evils in the society.

The movie was recently embroiled in various controversies, with accusations and petitions filed by social activist and a writer. The character Bhoothnath who appeared in an ad commercial for children showed Big B as Bhoothnath, and an activist from Mumbai slammed the charges that the commercial promoted the belief in the existence of ghosts and spirits and propagated the practice of black magic.

The second accusation was filed as a plea by a writer, who complained that the story of the sequel was lifted from his literary works without prior consent. High court is due to hear both the appeals shortly. However, the film is still on scheduled to release as per the plan and no stop was issued so far.

Amitabh Bachchan also appeared recently on the popular show, Comedy Nights with Kapil, promoting Bhoothnath Returns. The show saw the megastar really participate, interacting with his fans and laugh away to the cheesy jokes cut by the show participants. Furthermore, Big B also sang his trademark song ‘Mere Angane mein’ from his hit film Laawaris, astounding his fans totally.

Nearly after eight years, Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Boman Irani will seen sharing the screen space together. Boman, who was appreciated for his performance in Bhoothnath, will play the role of a corrupt politician in the sequel, Bhoothnath Returns. Amitabh plays the friendly ghost who haunts Boman to scare him.

When director Nitesh Tiwari was not prepared for a particular scene, he approached Boman to help pen the dialogues and the scene. Boman not only penned some effective dialogues and the screenplay, but also demonstrated the scene in front of the film crew that was awe struck with his performance.

Apparently, Irani hit and slapped himself, enacting as if a ghost is doing that to him. An incredible actor that he is, the technicians were left amazed with his great skills. Writing is a great talent and making a scene in no time plus the dialogues is excellent.

Bhoothnath Returns is a horror comedy that will see Big B reprising the friendly ghost who fights the evil for good. The film has been constantly in news off late, with accusations flying against the content in various ways. The controversies apart, the film will see a court hearing on the two cases filed – one by a writer who says that the idea was lifted from his literary works and the other by a social activist who slammed an ad commercial promoting the movie, showing Amitabh dressed like
a ghost. The activist stated that the commercial promoted the belief system about evil spirits and ghosts and created the advancement of the existence of black magic.

The film is set to release on April 11th Worldwide.

Looks like Amitabh playing the friendly spirit had cast some evil repercussions on the film; first it was the social activist from Mumbai who filed a case against the ad commercial showing Big B as Bhoothnath, and now, it is the writer Sushant Supriya, who claims that the entire idea behind the film has been lifted from his works.

The Delhi High Court agreed to hear the plea of this Hindi writer tomorrow in lieu of the allegations that Bhoothnath Returns is closely based on the writer’s literary works.

A special bench comprising acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Siddharth Mridul have ordered the listing for tomorrow after the counsel for the writer Sushant Supriya. The film is planned to be released worldwide on April 11 th.

The writer, who came to know about the copyright infringement seeing the trailer, immediately filed for a plea. Another plea from the social activist is also to see a hearing, bearing accusations that Amitabh had directly propagated and supported the existence of ghosts and spirits, not to forget the existence of black magic, in the commercial that was made for children.

The first part, Bhoothnath, managed to fetch some endearing response from children. Amitabh playing that role of a friendly ghost is planted deeply into the mind-sets of children who now await the sequel. However, going by the series of incidents that are happening in connection to the film, a lot of damage control looks pending from the film makers’ end.